I've finally caught on. The Hoth-themed recruiting booth at Game Developers Conference last month was a clue. The e-mail about rare movie set photos seals it. It's the 30th anniversary of the Empire Strikes Back this year. Nostalgia time.

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Well, not nostalgia time here. Not yet. The movie premiered in the U.S. on May 21, 1980. There will be time for reminiscing about the movie next month. And then again in October, when the image atop this post is released as part of a book entitled ''Star Wars: The Making of The Empire Strikes Back'' which will commemorate the movie's release. Entertainment Weekly features this story's image and a dozen others in the magazine's next issue (you can also see EW's Empire gallery right now on their site.)

Now that we are all aware of the hype train coming down the tracks, let us prepare:

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Someone will write a Best Hoth Levels In Video Games article, igniting a debate about whether Shadows of the Empire should be typed by the same hands that clatters out the words Star Wars: Rebel Strike: Rogue Squadron III.